Have you ever considered what your life would be like without light? You’ve taken it for granted haven’t you? Light is essential for the existence of the majority of organisms on Earth and the ecosystem of the entire planet! Light is responsible for making plants grow, animal vision and countless other biological and physical processes. Throughout this video I will attempt to explain the phenomena of light using Quantum Physics; a theory that has surpassed all other forms of Physics, as it can explain the processes of waves, such as light. You will hear about the Photoelectric Effect, an experiment developed by Einstein in 1905, and Diffraction, to help explain the most indispensable physical phenomena in our lives: Light.
Click the icon below to watch my first DTube video! I hope you enjoy.
When a beam of light passes through a narrow gap, it spreads out, i.e. it diffracts. Diffraction can only be explained using waves. If light acted like a particle, the light particles in the beam would pass through the gap, unaffected, or not pass through the gap at all due to the size of the particle being too big.
The results of the photoelectric effect experiments can only be explained by thinking of light as a series of particle-like photons. If a single photon is considered as a packet of energy, it makes a 1-1 interaction with the electron, and all the energy in that photon is passed on to the electron.
If the energy is not enough for the electron to be emitted, the electron will simply vibrate, releasing its energy to its surroundings, allowing it to stay where it is. This is why electrons don't EVENTUALLY leave the metal when lower energy radiation is constantly shone on the metals surface.
If light was entirely a wave, photo-electrons will EVENTUALLY be emitted in the simulation I have shown in this video. The fact is, that they don't, which proves that light can act as a particle.
Want to play around with the photoelectric effect simulation?
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/photoelectric
If you have any questions, leave them below and until next time, take care.
~ Mystifact
Please note; no copyright infringement is intended. All images used have been labelled for re-use on Google Images. If any artist or designer has any issues with any of the content used in this article, please don’t hesitate to contact me to correct the issue.
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